Trillium Dell gets OK to start on armory work

Robert Connelly The Register-Mail RConnelly_

Tuesday

Jun 4, 2019 at 11:21 AMJun 4, 2019 at 11:21 AM

GALESBURG — Part of the former National Guard Armory is going to have a tenant.

The Galesburg City Council unanimously approved an agreement with Trillium Dell to bring the drill floor area up to code, by using their own employees and spending any costs associated with that, before occupying the 149 N. Broad St. structure.

The agreement includes Trillium building walls for the drill floor so a sprinkler system would not be needed, as the drill floor would become separated from the rest of the former Armory. It is expected the improvements would take about three months and then the company would enter into a four-year lease on the property with a monthly payment of $1,000.

In addition to the drill floor, Trillium would also take over the parking lot to the east of the armory, mostly to be used for deliveries. The plan is to use the drill floor as assembly space.

This comes more than a year after the business moved into Galesburg from Knoxville. It began as a small business that repurposed locally sourced timber and grew into a $6 million venture that sources timber from the Pacific Northwest.

City administration has said they still plan to market the armory's ancillary building, which won't be used by Trillium Dell. But that would apparently need some upgrades, City Manager Todd Thompson indicated Monday night.

"You're talking about some considerable expense to bring it up to code," he told council Monday.

City Council also unanimously approved paying EA Architecture and Design Inc. $14,000 for construction drawings, and the city could spend up to another $5,000 for EA to coordinate with the state preservation agency on the work.

The combination of two liquor licenses, which were both up for a first reading Monday night, and the partial armory occupancy means three vacancies in the city have plans for being occupied.

Ken Springer, president of the Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development, said those are encouraging projects.

"I think overall in the last few years we've seen quite a few vacant properties be re-used. It's a good thing for the community, No. 1, because these re-used properties are creating jobs, job opportunities for area residents," Springer said.

"And, No. 2, aesthetically, a used building looks better than a vacant building."

In addition to the Carriage House and armory news from Monday night, the city has seen the former Walmart building become home to four new businesses in the last year or so.

"I think it's a product of a fairly strong economy and the fact that, as far as building options go, what's on the market is on the market," Springer said.

"One of the most important things about the process of filling up old vacant buildings is if we ever want to see new buildings going up and new construction, we have to fill up the vacant buildings. Not always, but it helps if you reduce the number of vacant properties.

"It increases the chance that brand-new construction will be built and that, again, is something that has a lot of positive impacts on the community."